This article is intended to simplify heart rate zone training and the benefits one can gain from using a Heart Rate Monitor. Over the years I have experimented with both perceived exertion and using a heart rate monitor in both training and racing. Unless you have raced and trained for a long time I highly encourage you to use your heart rate monitor in your training. Depending on the length of your race this may be a valuable tool for you as well.

Let’s start with some basics so we are all on the same page. Your V02 max is the capacity for oxygen consumption by the body during maximal exertion. This is also known as aerobic capacity and maximal oxygen consumption. Your V02 max does not move (or moves very little). It is what it is!! You were born with it. You can be tested for your V02 max and set your heart rate zones as a percentage of the maximum. Typically five zones starting in zone one at 50-60% and increasing 10% points for all five zones.

Your Lactate Threshold is the point during exercise at which the blood lactate begins to accumulate above resting levels. Your threshold number moves with increased levels of fitness. In determining Threshold Heart Rates, the Threshold number serves as the anchor between being aerobic and anaerobic zones. So you have four zones under your threshold in which you are aerobic and anything over the anchor becomes anaerobic.

The two methods of setting zones are independent. You either use one or the other but not both interchangeably. I prefer to use the L/T zones as it gives us an accurate representation of your current level of fitness and helps me chart progress (or in some instances over training).

There are two tests (one on the bike and one for the run) I use in determining your L/T or anaerobic threshold. Please note there are many different ways of arriving at these numbers and like everything else in life there are debates over which method is the best and most accurate. Getting a test done in a performance lab is the arguably the best way to determine these numbers (you would need a test for both the run and the bike). If you have access to a lab and the financial means then please get your numbers tested.

To find your lactate threshold heart rate (LTHR) for either the bike or run complete a 30-minute time trial as follows. Find a course which is relatively flat. A track is perfect for the run and as flat and uninterrupted course for the bike, if you have one available. This test can also be done indoors on a compu trainer. Warm-up as you would before a short race and then begin the time trial. Start your heart rate monitor immediately. This should be one with an average heart rate mode. The effort of this time trial should be race like--give it all you have. Ten minutes into the time trial (20 minutes to go) hit the 'lap' button on your heart rate monitor so that when you finish you have your average heart rate for the last 20 minutes. This number is an approximation of your LTHR. The more times you complete this test and observe your heart rate relative to breathing in workouts, the more refined your LTHR will become. It is also important that you are somewhat rested when you take each test. These tests usually occur during a rest week and are typically spaced out a few days apart.

So now that we know a little about how we arrive at these numbers and what they stand for, how do we use this information in your training? Everyone should have completed there run/bike tests by now. (If you haven’t you will shortly). Once you get your Average Heart Rate for the last 20 minutes of a run/bike you take the number and enter this information in your training peaks account. The test should be recorded under races each time you perform a test and the numbers mentioned in the comments. Under the HR & Power zones section you simply enter your LTHR from your test, hit compute and then hit save. These numbers will then appear on your workout log each time you have a run or a bike. As you take subsequent tests you will note a pattern. Couple this with perceived exertion and you should have a keen awareness of your training zones.

Keep in mind that you burn more fat in zones one and two and these zones are used primarily in the base building phase. Just as you do when you build a strong foundation in a home you build a strong foundation in running, biking and swimming. You accomplish this with long, slow rides, runs and swims. As you get closer to your races you will incorporate speed, power, force, muscular endurance and anaerobic endurance.

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